


Death By Any Other Name

by fireflysglow_archivist



Category: Firefly, Highlander: The Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-04-27
Updated: 2004-04-27
Packaged: 2019-04-29 07:52:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14468238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fireflysglow_archivist/pseuds/fireflysglow_archivist
Summary: Firefly/Highlander Crossover





	Death By Any Other Name

**Author's Note:**

> Note from alice ttlg, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Firefly’s Glow](https://fanlore.org/wiki/Firefly%27s_Glow), and was moved to the AO3 as part of the Open Doors project in 2018. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are the creator and would like to claim this work, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Firefly's Glow collection profile](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/fireflysglow/profile).

Death By Any Other Name

## Death By Any Other Name

\--  
Disclaimer: Firefly and characters belong to Joss and Mutant Enemy. Highlander belongs to Davis/Panzer Productions, Inc. 

This is the first crossover I've ever written. Normally, I only read them, but well, a scene from this woke me up in the middle of the night and after I typed it up it still wouldn't go away. In order to be able to finish anything else, I gave in. 

Feedback appreciated. Not beta-ed so all mistakes are mine. 

Set after Objects in Space, but for convenience I ask you to assume that Inara's wish to leave has been resolved. Also, I have never seen the last season of the Highlander series so I'm ignoring it and I prefer to maintain that Highlander: Endgame exists in some alternate reality because I can't stand that they manage to mangle the myth yet again in the movies. 

Death By Any Other Name . . . by Jebbypal \-- 

Inara smiled pleasantly at the lanky youth. He had been one of her first clients after her arrival on Serenity. Although surprised that he was able to pay her fees at his age without any apparent family, she had been drawn by his mysterious mixture of youth and wisdom shown in his screening tape. Although Serenity had not been in range of Bellapharon for a few months, she kept up a correspondence with him after their first meeting. She felt a connection to this man who seemed to have few, if any, ties connecting him to the galaxy or the Alliance. And more than any of her other customers, Charles Pierce had an enchanting ability to make a woman feel as if she was the only one he ever thought of while she was with him. Inara had even gone so far as to ask during one of their sessions if he had ever had any training at the Academy. He had only laughed and then proceeded to keep her from thinking very much at all for the rest of their time together. 

"Charles, it has been too long." The man on the screen smiled at her as he lounged in front of the camera. 

"Inara, you know I feel it's been too long as soon as you leave my side. When do you estimate that your ship will arrive?" 

"If all goes 'smooth' as Captain Reynolds would say, we should dock by midday." 

"Good, I'll be expecting you." Pierce paused as gazed at the Companion over the cortex. Pursing his lips, he continued. "I wonder if it would be too much trouble to ask a favor from you?" 

"Not at all Charles, I am at your service." 

"Well this is not a service, but rather a favor for a friend, I hope. Could you arrange for your captain to accompany you to my home? I have a business proposition and the fact that you trust him speaks well of his character." Inara carefully hid her surprise at the request. She knew that Charles was well aware of her wish to maintain a separation of her business affairs from the captain of Serenity. And yet, she knew that things had been tight for the crew of late, and one thing Charles had in excess was money and business contacts. Hopefully, Mal would not manage to get himself into any duels or other trouble if she did consent to this favor. 

"I will mention it to him, but I can not promise anything." 

Charles Pierce smiled engagingly. "Of course, I thank you in advance and anticipate your arrival Ms. Serra." 

"Your client what?!" 

"Mal, be reasonable. Charles knows that I am aboard a transport ship, it makes sense that if he wishes to engage in certain activities that he might wish to hire your services." Inara smoothed her dress before looking at Mal again. "Besides, despite his wealth, Charles Pierce is very young and has relatively few connections outside of antiquities trade. I am not surprised that he would ask this favor of me." 

Mal rubbed his neck thoughtfully and attempted to pace the small shuttle. "So this is about my ship and not, uhh, anything. . ." 

Inara didn't know whether to laugh or yell at the man's implication. "I assure you, it is only about your ship." 

Mal sighed. "Fine, Zoe and I will go with you to meet your client. But I have to say, this makes me all sorts of uneasy." 

Mal and Zoe had gotten the directions to the Pierce household from Inara so they could take the mule while she arrived in her shuttle. The house or mansion, as Mal felt it should be accurately described as, was located quite a distance from the space docks. Although not as extravagant or gaudy as the estates of say the Persephone elite, the three story mansion managed to give the impression of money. Very little land was attached to the house that Mal could see, but that was only to be expected given the rapidly growing size of the settlements and cities on the planet. Inara was waiting for them on a small porch that extended off the side of the house and was shaded by the lone tree on the property. Next to her lounged a young man who appeared to consist only of lanky height, coal-black hair and very little of anything else. His face was all angles and then ears. It would be interesting to see if he actually had to deal with five-o'clock shadow. Mal was almost surprised that the man was old enough to contract with a Companion, but there were some poor souls who were doomed to look forever the teenager until the day they suddenly turned gray and old. 

Inara stood as the pair approached and introduced them as they stepped on the porch. "Charles, this is Captain Reynolds and his first officer, Zoe Warren. Captain, Charles Pierce." 

Pierce stood and shook their hands. Kissing Inara chastely on the cheek, he greeted them. "Welcome, please help yourselves to refreshment. Inara, if you'll excuse us?" Inara nodded and shot Mal a glance before leaving the deck. She truly hoped he behaved himself because Charles was truly one client she hoped she never lost. 

Sitting in the wooden rocking chairs after taking some refreshments, Mal tried to get a measure of Inara's client. He was surprised at how difficult it was to read the young man, although he could tell that what little body language there was to be interpreted was being carefully sent by the other. "Mr. Pierce, Inara led me to believe that you may have some work for my ship." 

Pierce only returned his gaze for several minutes before speaking. "Yes sir, you are correct. I have a number of items I need discreetly shipped and also wish to arrange for passage on your ship at the same time," he finally replied. 

Zoe raised an eyebrow and Mal was more than a tad surprised him self. He'd expected a few things from this meeting, but deferential respect from the man hadn't been one of them. "Well, now, discreet shipping is our specialty, although I've become less than fond of the idea of passengers, I must say. But now, I'm confused, Inara as well as the cortex led me to believe that you'd be more than capable of owning your own boat." 

Pierce sighed and Mal thought his eyes appeared to be going through a list of explanations. "Captain, I tend to be rather solitary and those that I do know have very little desire to leave the comforts of the core. In all honesty, I detest most anything that requires me to deal with Alliance bureaucrats and I'm sure you know that ownership of an inter-planetary space craft brings with it a whole host of Alliance laws and officials. My business is well run and I have very little tying me to this place, so it makes sense that I might as well travel on the same ship as the cargo. I assure you, this does not indicate a lack of trust, merely convenience." 

"Be that as it may, the owner of cargo traveling on the same ship does tend to raise the brow of the Alliance now and again," Mal commented 

"If it makes you feel better, I can arrange to have it listed as owned by someone else for the departure. After that, I rather doubt the Alliance should have to know of it. As for myself, I wish to go to another destination than the majority of the shipment, so you can easily explain to the officials that I'm a rich prat who wishes to tour the rim and was comforted by the presence of a companion aboard an otherwise disreputable vessel." 

Mal caught Zoe's gaze and communicated silently with her. Pierce could certainly pay and pay up front; the only question would be whether he was more trouble than he was worth. There were the Tams to consider, although the fact that he didn't like bureaucracy made Mal feel that their fugitive status might be a non-issue. The girl had been doing a bit better since the incident with the bounty hunter. She was far from sane, but tended to act a little less creepifying nowadays. They should be able to pass her off as the niece of one of the crew or something. The next question would be as to how much they could charge. Zoe nodded her approval, although Mal could tell that she picked up on the slight oddness about the man as well. Nothing indicated danger per-say, but Mal hoped it was just the eccentricities of the rich which had his danger signal on alert. 

"I think we can do business Mr. Pierce. We plan to ship out in two days, will that be enough time?" 

"That is fine Captain. It has been a pleasure meeting you." \-- 

The dock inspector eyed the ten boxes and one Charles Pierce doubtfully. "Cargo from a John Smith and one passenger," he stated disdainfully. Tianna, he should have known better than to let a rich greenhorn see to the shipping papers Mal thought to himself. Forcing a smile, he just nodded at the official while he imagined thrashing his young passenger once he got off this rock for picking a name for the shipping documents that screamed 'smuggled goods'. 

"I need to open these crates, random inspections and all that, you understand." The official directed his apology for the delay to the passenger rather than the captain. It was unlikely that the young man was involved in the obvious attempt at smuggling. His assistant cheerfully began to pry the wooden crates open to reveal box after box of random supplies. Nails, bolts, horseshoes, MANURE!!! Stepping back at the mature smell, the dock inspector covered his nose. "Well it all seems to be in order, have a good trip," he said quickly as he backed away quickly. 

"Manure??" Mal inquired as he gestured for Jayne and Wash to proceed with the loading. 

Pierce just smiled. "I hear that fertilizer can go for quite a price on some worlds, Captain." 

Mal shook his head. It looked like the greenhorn was a little smarter than he assumed. "Just as long as we ain't taken it there." 

Pierce just laughed as he grabbed his personal effects and boarded Serenity. Mal turned to follow and directed him out of the cargo bay into the rest of the ship. "The bridge, cargo bay, and engine room are off limits. If you need to send a wave, ask me or Zoe - we prefer to fly silent most times. We have another passenger you'll meet, a Shepherd. Also, in addition to the crew, I have a young cousin that ain't quite all there, but she stays to herself mostly. But she's in the passenger dorm, so I apologize ahead of time if she disturbs you. Feel free to let me or the doc know if she's a bother." In the passenger dorm, Mal gestured to indicate the man's room. "It's not much, but the beds here are better than the crew's. Feel free to wander here, the common room, and the kitchen. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to see that we're set to fly." 

Pierce nodded, but Mal's exit was impeded by the figure of River standing at the entrance to the dorm. Mal smiled tightly and tipped his head. "Speak of the devil, this is my cousin. Name's Sarah, but she goes by her nickname River that her pa gave her. River, you're supposed to be with 'Nara." 

River tilted her head as she stared between the two men. "No devils or angels. Death and stories, legends not about men." Pierce raised his eyebrows at that, but Mal didn't intend to let him puzzle over the girl too long. 

"Come on River, let's find the Doc or Inara so I can work." Mal took the girl by the shoulders and led her away from the new passenger. \-- 

After two days, Charles Pierce found himself wanting to climb the walls of the small ship. The Captain's edict to stay out of the cargo bay and the engine room cut down on the space available to roam on an otherwise spacious ship. It had been so long since he had taken an interstellar voyage of any length that he had forgotten how much it reminded him of being trapped at sea. Nothing to do, very little to see, and the same faces around every corner you turned. They still had four more days of travel until the ship reached the planet of Boros where he planned to deliver his less sentimental collectibles in exchange for a large tract of land on an as yet un-terraformed moon. After that, the ship still had a week or so more of coasting before they reached his final destination of Dyton. He definitely should have thought through his travel arrangements more carefully. 

What was worse, he could not shake the shadow of the Captain's young cousin. If the man had been more paternal, Pierce was certain he would have been asked what his intentions were or what he thought he was doing leading on a young girl. Probably the only reason he hadn't been assaulted by the crew about the child was that they were just as disturbed as he was at the fragments of speech that came out of her mouth when the two were together. If he had been a religious man, he would have asked the Shepherd to perform an exorcism because he was really starting to feel like Cassandra had possessed the poor girl. 

The rest of the crew was somewhat entertaining though. Zoe and Wash made an interesting couple - in some ways, it felt like he was seeing a mirror image of Duncan and Amanda. Kaylee, not much to say about her other than the fact that the mechanic was just too damn cheerful! Fortunately Jayne balanced out the environment so he was not too tempted to try and put a damper on Kaylee's joy. The doctor though, he swore the doctor was the most nervous person he'd ever met. Pierce was more than a little glad that he'd never have to worry about the boy operating on him. And the Shepherd, one day soon he hoped the man would tire of philosophical discussions designed to bring him to religion. He could tell the preacher enjoyed having another intellectual around, but he was really beginning to make it difficult to stay in character. Inara had so far managed to have many timely entrances that had prevented him from completely losing his temper thus far, but he was truly getting close to the end of his rope. Inara had been right, he definitely should have spent more time getting reacquainted with groups of people before embarking on this trip. Ah, well, nothing to do but try to take heart in the fact that by the time he arrived on the frontier, he would be so glad to return to his hermit ways that he wouldn't even care if there were any people or facilities around. 

"Having trouble sleeping Charles?" Inara's quiet entrance into the kitchen startled him out of his thoughts. 

"Not really, just enjoying the blessed quiet." 

Inara laughed. "I always thought you were more of a people person." Pierce just shrugged and drank his tea. \-- 

Mal stormed in the passenger dorms looking for the doctor. "Now what in the nine hell's was so important you had to wake me up?" he demanded. 

Simon gestured towards Pierce's room. "I thought you should see this." 

Mal glanced into the room and then entered it. He was greeted with the sight of River cradling a long, heavy, and presumably sharp sword to her chest while she flipped through ancient leather journals containing lines of nonsense symbols. "A tad more creepifying than usual, I agree Doctor." 

Simon just rolled his eyes from where he stood behind the Captain. "She refuses to let go of the sword, and I'm a tad hesitant to ask the assistance of the owner." 

Mal took a few steps and knelt in front of River. "And why would that be?" River raised her head and locked eyes with him. Reaching behind her, she pulled out a specific book and opened it. The page she turned too was covered in a flaky reddish-black substance. 

"All he has ever been is bathed in blood," she told Mal quietly. Mal repressed a shudder as he took the blade she suddenly pressed into his hands. "The blade is bathed in lightning, reborn each time. Tombstones multiply but his forever lost." 

"Diyu," Mal muttered as he forced himself to breathe normally again. "Simon, does it sound to you like she's saying that we've brought a psychotic murderer on board?" 

"I ... don't know Captain." 

Mal stood and brought River with him. "Doctor, go to the infirmary and lock yourselves in. Then contact Zoe and tell her to get Wash and Kaylee to the bridge for the same. If you can get Jayne or Book up, do the same." 

Simon gathered his sister into his arms and turned to go. Pausing, he looked back. "And Inara?" 

"I heard her in the kitchen with Pierce. I'll take care of it. Now get!" Turning, Mal bent and retrieved the sword from the floor. There was no blood on it that he could see, but after hearing River, he could only try to imagine the things it must have been used for in the past. Steeling himself, he un-holstered his gun and cocked it. If need be, he'd introduce one Charles Pierce to a different kind of baptism. 

\-- 

Inara looked up from the tea she was brewing when Charles fell silent. Mal stood in the doorway that led to the infirmary with a gun pointed at her friend and a . . . sword! "Mal, what do you think. . ." 

"Shut up 'Nara. Go to your shuttle now and seal it." 

"Mal be serious!" she argued. 

"I'm as serious as a grave. Go." The Companion stared at him dumbfounded. Although in control, she thought the captain actually looked scared. "Stop standing 'Nara. Go now." Praying that Charles could talk himself out of whatever had happened; she turned and left the kitchen. 

Mal tilted his head and held up the sword. "Now, how 'bout you start 'splaining why this was in your room when I told you all weapons should be left in cargo?" Pierce opened his mouth, but before he could answer, Mal continued. "Also, might make an interesting story if you tried to explain those books covered in blood." 

Simon struggled with his sister as he tried to shut the door to the infirmary. "Shhh, mei mei. Everything is fine; the Captain has it under control." His grip loosened as she violently shook her head. 

"NOO! He didn't understand. He tempts death, destroy us all. Secrets must be secret or we all fall down." Simon gave up on the door and started trying to get across the room to the hypo gun he kept loaded with a smoother. River stilled suddenly as she realized her brother's intent. "Sorry ge ge," she whispered as she swung her head back as hard as she could. The crown of her head connected with Simon's chin and he stumbled stunned from the blow. River quickly pushed him down and grabbed a metal object from a drawer by the hypo gun. Concealing it in her shift, she hurriedly exited the room, pausing only long enough to lock the doors from the outside. 

Upon being confronted by Mal about River's discoveries, Pierce stood speechless and desperate. His attempt to take control of the situation was interrupted by the sudden appearance of River sliding in front of Mal. 

"Don't back him into a corner, cap'n. Although he tells himself he's not death anymore, his answer is still the same when no other option's found." Walking closer to the cornered man, River continued to mumble to herself before addressing the others. "So alone, all the others gone. Brothers dead, friends hiding, always hiding. Not safe together. No where to go, no gathering since earth that was was. No foundlings left on the steps and no one wakes from death anymore except the old ones." Walking closer and finally reaching out to touch the immortal, she began to cry silently. "So much death, so much loss. Many lives, many loves, few families, secrets aplenty. Lost and running, must stay always ahead of the science and avoid becoming the rats." Pierce caught the girl as she collapsed sobbing beside the table. 

As soon as she felt his hands, she struck. The scalpel was in his neck almost before he realized it. His eyes widened as he dropped to his knees. River continued to sob beside his body as Mal gathered her into his arms. She grabbed his hand before he could remove the blade from the body. "No, death remains. Always returns." 

"You're talking crazy, girl. A dead body stays dead." River struggled with him as he reached out again, but he fell back suddenly as he saw a blue spark encompass the scalpel. "Wo de tien ah!" 

"Told you!" River said sticking her tongue out. "Can put him in a corner now, share the secret, decide while keeping death at bay." Mal stared at the girl for a few minutes before contacting Zoe over the com. 

\-- 

Pierce gasped shortly after the scalpel was removed. He remained quiet with his eyes closed, testing the bonds on his wrists and feet, until a boot prodded his side. "The monitors showed your heart beat. We know you're back." He opened his eyes to locate the voice. 

They were in the cargo bay and he was surrounded by Jayne, Zoe, and Mal while River and Simon sat farther away intent on the medical equipment. The crew was all armed and Mal still held his sword. Pierce closed his eyes and laid his head down again, swearing silently in many languages. He stopped when he heard the girl repeat everything he was thinking. Not right my ass, he thought. I haven't heard anyone say those words with the correct pronunciation in centuries. 

He opened his eyes again when he felt the hands. He found the captain repositioning him so he was sitting up. Glaring at the others, Pierce waited. 

Mal squatted in front of him. "Here's how this is going to work mister. You're going to explain things to us and we're going to decide whether we feel reassured enough to not dump your sorry self out an airlock. Dong ma?" Pierce remained silent as he evaluated his limited options. He smirked to him self as the captain began grinding his teeth at the silence. "You're trick is fancy enough, but I still wonder whether it works in a vacuum or not. Jayne!" 

Cursing, Pierce gave in. "Fine! What exactly do you wish me to explain Captain? You have already seen I can't die." 

"How 'bout all of it? I feel I need a lot of reassurance that you won't kill us all in our sleep to feed on our blood." Mal paused as he stood to rejoin Zoe and Jayne. "And don't forget, our girl will let us know if you fib." Pierce glanced over to see River leave her brother's side and approach the rest. 

Pierce leaned his head against the crate he was sitting against. He was more convinced than ever that Cassandra was haunting him through the child. That was the only plausible explanation as to why he suddenly found himself having to explain about immortals to a group of mortals for the first time in three hundred and fifty years. 

After the lengthy explanation, some discussion about his various lives, and many hours, Pierce finally fell silent. "So you still carry a sword even though this Game ended when everyone left Earth That Was?" Zoe asked. 

"It's that or feel naked," he replied tiredly. 

"So how old are you then?" Jayne asked from where he sat playing with his knife Binky. 

"I don't see how that matters." 

Mal glared at the immortal. "Airlock," he reminded. 

Before he could answer, River spoke from where she had laid down on the floor some time ago. "Methos thinks he is five thousand six hundred years old. That's all he can remember. There is a fog of time before the memories begin though. The estimate is shaky at best given the changes in the calendar over time." 

Mal stared at the immortal. "Hunh!" 

"That's all of it. Or at least as much as I intend to tell a group of mortals keeping me tied with the threat of vacuum held over me," Methos stated with finality. 

**TBC**  
Part 2 -- > Okay, so I apologize if things get tricky. The names in the passages will be indicative of how much each character knows of what's happened. 

Chinese Glossary  
Liou coe shuai du biao-tze huh hoe-tze duh ur-tze - Salivating son of a bitch and a monkey 

Mal sighed and looked at Zoe. Even though they had the story, and what a story it was, the man in front of them was still an unknown variable. "Seems to me that he's after the same thing we all are, Sir." Mal just raised his eyebrows at Zoe's comment. "Freedom." Mal nodded. The man's comments about avoiding the Alliance bureaucracy now made much more sense. To hide what he was in the Core would be impossible for any extended length of time. The technology would eventually trip him up. Before the war, Bellaraphon had been the edge of civilization. Now the man needed to be on the frontier to be safe. 

Standing, he holstered his gun and walked over to the tied man. Crossing his arms, he stared down thoughtfully. "Well now, I guess that just leaves us with one problem doesn't it?" he questioned with a hard look. 

The immortal swallowed and began to feel true danger in the man's gaze. "And what would that be, Captain?" 

"What the hell do we call you?" The other man said with a sudden grin. Methos relaxed as the others began laugh and Mal untied his restraints. 

"Pierce will do," he replied as he accepted Mal's hand and stood. 

"Well then, been a long night. Time for everyone to turn in I reckon." 

Simon paused in his packing of the medical equipment. "Uhh, Captain, I seem to remember a rather large mess." 

"Diyu!" 

Methos waved them on. "Don't worry about it. Seeing as I'd prefer the entire ship not know about tonight, I'll take care of it." 

Mal paused by the stairs. "Fine." Looking back, he spotted River still on the floor of the cargo bay. "Simon, tell your sister that we'll have an update on the 'No Touching' list tomorrow." 

"Be sure you add scalpels to it," Methos called after them. \-- 

All traces of the pool of blood were almost gone from the floor when he heard her enter. After sitting in one of the corner cubbies, she apologized. "Weren't my secrets, but needed them to know I wasn't worse." 

"It's okay, River. It all worked out." Standing he disposed of the last of rags and began to stow the cleaning products. "However, I'd appreciate it if you could stay out of my head." River whimpered and folded in on herself. "I'm not mad, little one. People just prefer it when others don't know their thoughts." 

"Would that I could. You remember, I hear. You dream, I see." 

Methos looked at the girl from across the room unable to keep an expression of horror and pity off of his face. "Is it that way with all of them?" 

She shook her head. "Mostly glimpses. You - you're a blinding light. Can't look away, can't keep it out. Shows everything, hard not to get lost except for the shadow I cast." 

"She means what she says, we haven't found a way to control it," Simon said from the hallway. "Mei mei, you're supposed to be asleep." River ignored her brother's words while greedily accepting his comforting embrace. 

"So she's always . . ." 

Simon shook his head as he re-positioned River so she was in his lap. "She was a normal but brilliant child. Then she went away to what was should have been the perfect school for her." Simon paused to soothe his sister as she got agitated at the direction of the conversation. "They did this to her. Before she was perceptive, brilliant. Now," 

"Now, she's more than clairvoyant," Methos finished for him. 

"You seem to think she should be able to control it. Do you know any techniques or medicines?" 

Methos shook his head and sat down at the table. "Over the years there have always been those select few with certain gifts. At times they were revered, others burned as witches. As technology increased and society changed, fewer appeared or perhaps fewer were able to use their talents. But I've never heard of someone being changed to possess those abilities." Simon frowned at the lack of help. "Anyway, soon enough I'll be gone. I'll try to do what I can to make this more bearable for her." 

\-- 

Inara exited her shuttle the next morning. Spying Kaylee close by, she joined her at the catwalk rail. 

"Shiny, isn't he?" Kaylee observed happily. Below on the cargo bay floor, a shirtless Charles Pierce performed complex katas with a sword while Book and Jayne lifted weights. 

Inara smiled. "So I take it their disagreement was resolved?" 

"Cap'n didn't tell you?" Inara shook her head as she watched Pierce move through his katas. "River found a sword in Pierce's room. Simon freaked when he found her and Cap'n was upset too. Everything worked out though. At some point, Mal said Simon slipped about River's cover story though, so Cap'n lifted the restrictions. Course, River has a longer list of "things on Serenity not to touch" to remember." Kaylee wiggled her eyebrows and giggled. "And we get this." 

"Indeed," Inara replied. 

Across the bay from the women, Simon knelt down beside his sister who was dangling her legs off the catwalk. "Better mei mei?" 

River nodded. "All quiet. No thoughts, just the weight of the sword." 

Simon kissed her head and walked over to where Mal stood a few feet away also watching the exercise. "Did the others accept your explanation?" Mal nodded and continued drinking his coffee in silence. "Thanks for letting him try this. River says it helps." 

"Just keep wondering how I end up with all strangeness in the 'verse congregating on my boat. Is there a sign or something?" Mal asked. 

Simon smiled. "If there is, I didn't see it." 

\-- 

Zoe and Wash sat comfortably together in the pilot's chair on the bridge. "You're serious, no heartbeat, and then wa-la!" 

"More remarkable and disturbing than even juggled geese, I assure you husband." 

Wash shook his head and just stared out at the black. "And we're absolutely certain he's not an alien?" 

"River says he's not." 

"And Mal's cool with all of this?" 

Zoe caressed Wash's hair and smiled at him. "He's accepted it. He'll be glad to be rid of him, no doubt, but he's accepted it." 

Wash frowned. "I'm still not seeing the urgency of the situation that required you to spend the night out of our bed, wife!" 

\-- 

"For the last time Shepherd, I'm telling you the translation you're referring to was not correct so your argument is flawed." 

"I disagree, Mr. Pierce. That translation has been redone several times and the result is always . . ." 

"Drop it, Preacher," Mal said from the stove where he'd been standing for several minutes listening to the conversation. 

"Captain, you aren't familiar with what we're discussing." 

Mal set down the kettle of water on the stove and walked closer to Book. "I believe I told you once that God wasn't welcome on this ship." 

Book met his gaze for a minute before standing. "Fine. Captain, Mr. Pierce." With that word of parting, he left the kitchen. 

Methos dropped his head on the table in exhaustion. "You have my undying thanks." 

Mal smirked. "Well, only to be expected. Hard not to be thankful for this exceptionally pretty face and winning personality." 

"Are you telling me I should be thankful to Jayne instead?" 

"Now that's just cold man!" 

\--  
<On the planet Boros, two days later>

A muscular Hispanic man of average height walked into the small bookstore. After turning over the closed sign and checking the narrow stacks for any stray customers, he approached the elderly owner, a man of African descent, who was busily updating his inventory in the corner across from the door. "Nycos waved to say the ship should arrive tomorrow." 

The owner glanced up from his work. "And was Nykos helpful as to the contents of the ship?" he asked as he pointed a wrinkled hand at a stool not far from his work table. 

Sitting, the messenger shrugged. "Said that the ship was a crew of smugglers, no one too interesting. In addition to the cargo we want, they did take on a passenger - Nykos said something about his look bothered him, but he couldn't place it." 

The store owner leaned back in his chair and assumed a thoughtful expression. "Nykos was always useless in the field. I don't suppose we were lucky enough for him or the dock security to get a picture?" 

The messenger smiled at him and handed him a data pad. On the pad's screen, the store owner saw two men dressed in Bellaraphon governmental uniforms, a blonde man dressed in a brown duster and the striped pants favored by the Independent army a few years back, and a young lanky Caucasian man with black hair and prominent angular facial features. 

"Liou coe shuai du biao-tze huh hoe-tze duh ur-tze!" the elderly man swore. "Listen to me carefully, this changes everything, dong ma?" 

The messenger nodded. 

"This mission is critical to the survival of our organization, my young friend. Kill the passenger, preferably without drawing any attention, and recover the shipment." 

"And if he doesn't leave the ship alone?" the messenger asked for clarification. 

"If other means do not work, dispose of them. We do not have the time to see if they could be brought into the organization." The bookkeeper called after the young man as he started to leave. "Oh and Carlos, under no circumstances are those swords to be delivered. You must intervene before then." 

\--  
**TBC**

Neroli mentioned that she hadn't seen much of the later Highlander episodes and I realized that I was taking it for granted that most were familiar with most of the show. I've done my best to work it in at points (may end up revising it to a different point later on, but want to keep things moving), but if you are still confused or just interested, here's a link that has many of the important character espisodes summarized/transcribed and details the histories of the characters. http://www.geocities.com/giselehighlanderfan/methos/episodes/ Spoilers for the H:TS episodes Comes A Horseman and after. 

Part 3  
Chinese Glossary  
Shide- yes  
Tianna, gu zao de - God this can't get any worse. 

\--  
Mal stood at the bottom of the ramp steps watching his unexpectedly complicated passenger perform with his sword. He'd already had to chase Kaylee away from the cat walk three times this morning. He'd been fooling himself when he thought that the novelty would wear off for his mechanic. Mal wasn't sure if he should be happy or not that his boy-crazy crew member was distracted from her pursuit of the young doctor. The only thing about the situation that reassured him was that he had noticed how distinctly uncomfortable her excessive cheerfulness made the immortal - especially since it had been directed full force at him after she first witnessed him with his shirt off. Of course, Mal also figured any man who'd been around this 'verse for five thousand years would know better than to exercise shirtless around women when they were confined in close quarters. 

"Just wanted to let you know we're a day off from Boros right now. Anytime you want to wave your contact, just head to the bridge," Mal called out when it appeared that the other man was decreasing the intensity of his exercise. 

Methos paused his movement as he quickly glanced around the cargo bay area. Once he was sure they were alone, he walked over to Mal. "I hadn't gotten a chance to thank you for not telling everyone." 

Mal just nodded. "Don't blame you for wanting to keep it to yourself. Book and Inara ain't crew and can't see that Kaylee needs to know seeing as you're leaving in a short while." Methos lowered his sword and walked over to where its scabbard was laying on a crate with his shirt. "Although, as calm as River has been what with your meditation, you might oughta teach Simon some of your mojo before you leave," Mal said as he turned to leave the cargo bay. 

"I don't know, Captain. To hear Kaylee tell it, you're the one who gets in all the duels on the ship." 

\-- 

"The Captain said I could make a wave from here," Methos said to Wash as he entered the bridge. 

Slightly startled, Wash turned in his seat. "Uhh, yeah, the cortex screen is right over here." Methos approached the screen and began to enter a number. "So, you can come back from the dead and all huh?" Methos just rolled his eyes and nodded, still focused on the screen. "So could I see you heal or something sometime?" Wash asked curious. 

"Sure, but then I'd have to rip your head off to replenish my life force," Methos replied completely deadpan. 

Wash paled. "I think I hear Zoe calling me," he said as he hurried down the stairs off of the bridge. 

Mal made a tsk-ing sound from the back of the bridge. "I'd 'preciate it if you could make an attempt to not spook the crew." 

Methos slumped his shoulders. "I thought you said I could make a wave." Mal nodded. "I assumed that meant in private." 

"Before the other night, sure. But it's kinda odd, I'm eager to ensure I don't experience any more surprises as a result of our business together." 

Methos glared at him. "Fine, just stay out of the camera range okay?" After Mal had moved enough that he wasn't visible, Methos punched the button to connect him to the address he'd entered. A woman in a maid's uniform answered the call. "Is Mandy around Nita?" 

"One second, senor." The maid left the screen and was soon replaced by a graceful, slender woman with short chestnut hair. 

"Pierce, good of you to finally contact me." 

"Sorry Mandy, couldn't be helped. We arrive tomorrow, when can we meet?" 

The woman on the screen made a face. "If you had contacted me earlier, I might have been able to save you some travel time. I won't be able to take the items after all." 

"Mandy, we all made a deal. It's your turn now!" 

"Don't get all righteous on me old man! It doesn't suit you." Pausing, the brunette composed herself. "We also agreed to avoid the chronicles too. I've picked up some new shadows these past few days and its giving me the wiggins." 

Methos cursed loudly. "Are you certain?" The woman nodded. "And you've slipped so much that you can't lose 'em Mandy?" 

"Do you think I'm stupid? I do that and they will get twice as interested." 

"Manda!" Methos groaned. 

"Okay, fine. I'll try to meet your ship, but I'm not saying I will take anything with me okay?" 

"Fine, fine. I'll see you tomorrow." Mandy smiled at him before the screen went black. 

"Problems?" Mal asked from where he leaned against the lockers. 

"Shde." 

"Elaboration wouldn't be out of place here you know." 

Methos dropped into the vacant pilot's seat. "You heard it all, what do you need me to elaborate on now?" 

Mal walked towards him slowly. "You know Pierce, I'm getting mighty sick of your secrets causing problems and it looks like whatever just happened might be dumping some trouble my way. So I'll ask you again, care to elaborate on this new set of problems?" he asked coldly as he crossed his arms and glared at the immortal. 

"Boy, there are some things that you are just better off not knowing. Know when to let your elders handle matters that are out of your league. I'll be sure to let you know when your expertise can help," Methos replied in a cutting tone as he stood. 

Red-faced, Mal closed the distance that separated them and got into the immortal's face. "If I can't help, I'll leave you to it. But I will know what the problem is if you intend to leave my boat on Boros, dong ma? That is, unless you don't plan on getting back on." 

Methos met Mal's stare and held it while he considered his options. If Amanda was nervous, then most likely some type of surveillance was underway. The only question was by whom? "You can't just let anything be can you?" Mal just waited without answering. Deciding, he deflated his stance and held up his hands in surrender, "Look, I don't know exactly what's going on okay? Mandy is an old friend and she tends to get nervous. It could just be that someone is interested in the architecture of her house and it's nothing." 

"Or it could be something more?" Mal prompted. "And by old, I assume you mean she's . . ." 

"Tianna, gu zao de! What do you want from me Reynolds? A list of every immortal I know to still exist? That is one sure way for me to need my sword." 

"Fine, but it is possible that the trouble stems from what you are?" 

"Or it could just be that Mandy is a well known fence for archeological artifacts from Earth That Was and the feds think that something is about to be exchanged." 

"Can't say I much care for either of the options, how 'bout we just skip this planet and find another fence elsewhere." 

Methos shook his head. "It's not an option. The amount of items and their ages, I can only hand these off to a few people without attracting undue notice. Besides, I'm not interested in selling them. I'm interested in leaving them in good hands." 

Mal took a step back in confusion. "What, wait a minute. If you aren't fencing the stuff then why'd we go through all that hand-waving back on Bellaraphon?" 

"Captain, those items aren't documented." 

"Then I'm seeing less and less of a reason not to take the lot of it to another fence." 

Methos looked at the ceiling in frustration and let out a string of curses in dead languages. "Look, Mal, those items in those crates down there are the few things that my friends and I felt that we wanted to have when we left Earth. Dong ma? They are not being sold to anyone." 

"Seems we're back to square one as to who your friend's shadows are then?" 

"When we land, I'll talk to her. If something happens, you have my permission to fly off to Bora Bora for all I care." 

Mal stared at Methos confused. "We're going to Boros, not Bora Bora. Where is that anyway?" 

Methos just shook his head and left the bridge. Mortals. The more they knew the more of a nuisance they became. 

\-- 

Mal met with Zoe, Jayne and Wash later in the bridge. After shutting the door to the corridor he summarized the situation for them. "If this shipment or his friend is going to draw that much attention, then maybe we should just not land on Boros, sir," Zoe suggested. 

"I've given thought to that. However, Methos or Pierce, or whatever the hell you want to call him, seems to think that only a select few people are worthy of this delivery. So we're going to play it his way with a little extra padding for comfort. Jayne, you and Zoe will follow Pierce and his friend if they leave the boat. Discretely follow, dong ma? Wash, I want you to monitor all the official channels and any others you can hack into. One word about the ship, antiquities, or our passenger and we leave that rock as soon as Zoe and Jayne are back on board." 

\-- 

The next morning found an impatient immortal pacing the cargo bay. He'd finally convinced the doctor that it would be best to sedate his sister. The way she'd reacted to him, well, he didn't know what the presence of two immortals would result in. The last thing he wanted was to find out that the poor girl had followed him off the ship or something. 

Mal just watched Methos pace as he leaned against the cargo bay door controls. Zoe and Jayne had left almost immediately after they had touched down in order to be ready to follow Methos and the mysterious Mandy. "Seems she's late, that kind of thing happen often?" 

Methos glared at the Captain. "She's a woman. It's her prerogative. You don't have to baby-sit me while I wait. You can feel free to go do your captain-y duties." 

Mal just smiled. At that point, a tall, slender blonde appeared at the bottom of the cargo bay ramp. She was attended by frumpy, chubby woman who wore a veil. Both entered the cargo bay and the blonde signaled to Mal that he could close the doors. Methos walked forward and began to speak quietly with the blonde. 

Nodding, he turned to Mal. "Is there an airlock that lets out towards the ground, Captain? It would be best if we could leave unobserved." 

Mal nodded and led the way. "Aren't you gonna introduce us Charlie?" 

Methos replied as he opened the airlock and lowered the veiled woman to the ground. "You and Sara have plenty of time to get acquainted Captain. Ta ta." 

The blonde smiled at Mal. "Refreshments would be great, Captain," she said, making it clear to Mal she wouldn't be leaving his side for the foreseeable future. Mal cursed to him self as he led her to the kitchen. Hopefully Jayne and Zoe would be able to anticipate Methos's move. 

\-- 

Jayne spoke into his mike. "You were right Zoe, they went out the lower airlock. I'm following down the street now." 

A few yards in front of him, Methos and the veiled woman walked quickly. "Anyone following us?" the woman asked. 

Methos spotted Jayne easily, but no one else seem intent on the couple. "No one I didn't expect. Any in particular destination in mind?" 

The woman smiled beneath her veil. "Not that I plan on telling you, Chuck," she taunted. 

"It's Charles, not Chuck or Charley." 

"Calm down, it's not good for you to be upset at your age. Besides, it's been so long since you've had a name that can be shortened." 

He put his arm over her shoulder as he moved to avoid several people on the busy street outside the dockyards. "Yeah, well I never imagined you'd take the name Amanda again so soon either." 

"Have you heard from Duncan lately?" 

"No, he managed to disappear during the war. He sent a message indicating he was safe, but well, you know our Scotsman. Gods forbid he ask for help in dealing with something." 

"I'm still glad you were able to locate him after he'd been taken. I never got to ask afterward, did you manage to destroy the data?" 

"Honestly, I don't know. I think so, but it's possible that they had a system containing the data that wasn't connected to the cortex. I wasn't exactly eager to run around the corporation headquarters looking for it." 

"Here we are," she said pushing him towards the entrance of a large mosque. Inside, after removing their shoes, she pulled him down a hallway. "I managed to get a friend to clear an office for us - should give us time to talk and be reasonably free of listening devices." 

"Ever the optimist, are you still holding out hope that there is somewhere the Alliance doesn't poke its nose, darling?" 

Once inside the room, Amanda pulled off her veil. Methos found it odd to see her admittedly graceful and beautiful features attached to a body that she had made to seem older and unattractive. He frowned as he remembered a time in which she had never had to do more than change her hair color. He honestly thought he'd never long for the turmoil that he had experienced when Mac and Joe had discovered his past, but the past fifty years made him long for a simpler time. 

"So Mac still doesn't know about Cassandra, I guess?" 

Methos shook his head as he sat heavily on the couch inside the office. He couldn't be certain of course, but usually the only time he felt Mac receive a quickening had been when they'd lived in the same city. He dreaded seeing his old friend again after killing Cassandra, but at the same time wished he could. Confessing to Mac might result in a punishment that could alleviate his guilt over killing the woman who had pursued him since he'd freed her when he was a member of the Horseman. 

Mac had never really forgiven him for what he'd done during the centuries of terror he had reeked during his time with his three blood-brothers; although, he did finally admit that those events occurred during a different period of history and that he could not judge what the older man had done to survive through the millennia. However, Duncan had remained fiercely protective of Cassandra since she was a link to his own days of mortality in Scotland. Methos wondered if the younger immortal had ever laughed at the irony that he protected the woman who had used him as a tool to defeat one of her former students from the man who had used him to help kill his own brothers. Through the years, both had come to appreciate the shared quickening they'd experienced during the fight with Silas and Kronos, two of Methos's brothers who were also members of the band known as the Four Horsemen. Methos was thankful to Mac still for taking Kronos's head, he didn't know what he would have done if he had been forced to live with his brother's quickening. 

"As always, Cassandra had the worst timing. I had just finished designing a virus that I was going to load into the Watcher's database the next day," he explained. 

Amanda smiled sadly at him. "That would have been nice. But between the Alliance's records and the Watchers, it probably wouldn't have made a difference." He smiled in acknowledgement of her forgiveness of his failure, but he still railed at night against the way Cassandra had upset his plans. No, he might not have been able to completely decimate the Watcher's program, but if the right people had disappeared after the database had been destroyed, neither Amanda nor Mac would have had to worry about being tagged as an immortal for a while. 

Methos shook his head roughly. Now was not the time for memories, there were issues to be dealt with other than old immortal reunions. "So, the shipment," he asked reminding her of their business. 

Amanda sighed and sat down on the couch beside him. Curling her legs underneath her as she faced him from the other end, she replied, "I just can't risk it right now. If the feds have decided to scrutinize me, it could just be a matter of time before they try a search since they seem to think I'm dumb enough to keep stolen goods in my home. And if it's not them, then well," 

"The crates would only cause them to step up their efforts or worse," he finished for her. "Is there anyone who could take them for safekeeping for you?" 

"I don't know anyone who I would ask to take that risk after what happened to Duncan." 

She was right. They had no right to put a mortal in that kind of peril. "Well, I guess that's that. Hopefully, Captain Reynolds won't mind making a few stops at some asteroids," he said. 

Amanda grabbed her veil. After kissing him on the cheek, she said her goodbyes. "Take care of yourself old man. And let me know when your new moon gets terra-formed. I might decide to take up the frontier life with you." Methos watched her leave as he cursed the Alliance, the Watchers, and the technology that forced him to remain separate from his immortal friends now when the Gathering and the Game were over. 

\-- 

Mal glanced at the time when his escort, or guard, finally left the ship. "Zoe, Jayne, did you find him?" he asked over the com equipment. 

"Affirmative, sir. His contact just left, but we're still waiting for him to leave," Zoe replied. "That's odd." 

Mal frowned at the information. "What's going on Zoe?" 

"Captain, I dislike being followed," Methos voice said through the intercom. Mal glanced at the ship's computer and saw that the information came from Jayne's headset. "However, I'll forgive your lapse if you'll allow me to borrow your crew for a while." 

"Pierce, forget whatever the hell you are thinking and get your skinny ass back to the ship now," Mal ordered. 

"I did phrase that as a request, didn't I? It wasn't one. We should be back in a few hours, no need to wait up Captain." 

Mal cursed the immortal and swore to space him as soon as they were in the black again. The last transmission had come from Zoe's headset. **TBC**  
\-- 

Part 4  
Chinese Glossary  
Je shr shuh muh lan dong shi - what kind of rotten thing is this? Diyu - hell  
Xiong meng de kuang ren - violent madman Dongwu - animal  
Mei guanxi, dong ma - its okay, I understand 

Zoe appraised the man currently holding both Jayne's knife and gun. "If you think the Captain is going to just go along with this, you're an idiot." 

Methos just smiled at her as he flung the pistol back to Jayne. "Look, I could give a rat's ass what Mal thinks right now. What I need from you is for you to agree to cooperate with me for a few hours at most. After that, you can stand back watch your precious captain do whatever. We clear?" 

Zoe glanced at the immortal then at Jayne. The merc was still rubbing at his throat where the smaller man had grabbed him before he had been disarmed. She had realized that Methos was dangerous after seeing him perform his katas on the ship, but she had not imagined that he could manage to take Jayne down unarmed. They did need to be re-supplied before leaving the planet, so it wasn't like waiting for Mal's retribution would inconvenience them. "Fine, what are we cooperating on?" 

Methos's smile sent chills down Zoe's back as she listened to his plan. 

\-- 

Amanda's home gave the impression of luxury without seeming gaudy. An understated home of Victorian design, Methos assumed it was based off a site where she had pulled one of her more memorable burglaries. Fortunately, there was a park on the same street with a hill that gave the group a perfect view of the home and surrounding area. Methos easily spotted the individuals watching the his friend's home. Whoever they were, they were obviously understaffed or they would have followed Amanda and her friend Sara when they left to meet him earlier. He decided it would be prudent to watch for a while to see if they should bother taking out all three or not. Zoe wasn't happy with the delay, but she'd already agreed to help. 

Methos pointed out one of the three watchers of the home to Jayne. "That one at the back of the house by the tree. After you subdue him, there's a passage at the base of the fountain to the right of him. You should be able to get him across to it without attracting attention from his friends." Jayne nodded that he understood and left the other two alone. 

"The smarter attack is to wait and follow one when they are relieved. Then you can question who's in charge," Zoe reiterated. 

Methos rolled his eyes and sighed. The woman had disliked the plan from the start, mostly because he refused to return to the ship to get Mal's input on it. "Look, we went over and over this. If we wait, it only increases the chances of them attacking the ship if they are after me. If they are feds, following them only increases the odds of them recognizing you and connecting things together with the unmarked Firefly sitting in the dockyards. This is the quickest way to answer all my questions and get us back on your ship so your Captain can soundly beat me for taking the initiative." Methos started moving away after finishing his explanation. He hoped to reach the cellar and explain things to Amanda before the mercenary had subdued his target. 

"I still think you should let Jayne and I do the interrogation. No offence, but you are hardly intimidating enough to get anyone to tell you anything." 

Methos almost laughed out loud at that comment. If only the child knew, but then if any of them even suspected, he would most likely be floating in space right now. Instead he took a deep breath, welcomed the darker parts of his psyche back to his conscious mind, and turned to face Zoe. "I'll remind you once child, I have lived through times that make your little war you went through look like a nursery school game of tag. I will get the answers I need and you will watch since you refuse to return to your ship. And I won't be happy if you interfere because your delicate sensibilities are offended. Are we perfectly clear?" 

Zoe stared back at the empty eyes and chillingly angry features unaware that the visage she now looked upon was described in the Preacher's bible as that of Death itself. Forcing down her own uneasiness which had appeared during Methos's speech, she nodded. "But the Captain will learn what happens here," she reminded the immortal. 

\-- 

Carlos was getting impatient. According to the men he had stationed at the dockyards, Serenity had landed earlier that morning. And yet, still nothing. No one had arrived at the house and the only people to leave had been the young neighbor Sara and the immortal's maid. He knew this mission was important. Unfortunately the organization couldn't afford too much scrutiny so the option of taking the immortal was out of the question. 

Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder. "See anything worth looking at?" Jayne asked. While the other man was too surprised to reply, the mercenary slugged him. After checking to make sure no one was watching, he pulled the body to cellar entrance that Methos had shown him earlier. 

Zoe helped eased the load some once he had cleared the stairs. "So, you ever going to let Mal take a passenger again when this is over?" he asked as they carried the body through a passage and into the cellar of Amanda's house. 

"Only if we can tie them up in a hidey-hole for the trip," she replied as they let the large Hispanic man fall into the chair Methos had provided. 

Amanda stood a short distance away with the other immortal. "I forgot that I sent you the house plans while it was being built. You will try to limit the blood spatter this time, right Chuckie?" 

Methos just smiled at her as he proceeded to tie Carlos to the chair. "You should leave before he wakes up. No need for him to associate Amanda with any of us." 

Amanda nodded and left the room while Jayne just looked to Zoe. "Jayne, go back to the ship. Let Mal know we'll be returning shortly," Zoe said as she kept her eyes on Methos. "Oh, and tell him to watch out for any folks that are overly curious about the ship." 

Methos let the mercenary leave without bothering to look at him. Turning his back on Zoe completely, he picked the lock on a very old looking leather chest. Inside, a large number of finely crafted metal knives were revealed. Picking up the most intimidating one, he turned back to Serenity's second in command. "Really, I appreciate the help, but well, I wouldn't want you to feel required to stay and witness anything that might give you nightmares." Methos hoped she would take the opportunity to leave. For this plan to work, she needed to be able to stand by and watch the torture; unfortunately, he knew that she and her Captain were both very righteous individuals. Their similarities to a certain immortal boy scout worried him. 

Zoe refused to back down and take the out that he offered. She could face heated gun battles with airships raining down artillery, walk unarmed into Niska's stronghold, but here a man holding only a knife while she had a gun was unnerving the hell out of her. "I think I can handle an interrogation. Besides, if I walk out that door, Mal will never know what the hell is going on." 

Methos gave her a concerned look as the tied man began to stir. "Just remember later, I warned you." As he walked towards the tied man, Zoe began to wish she had left with Jayne. 

Carlos's eyes widened when he saw Methos standing in front of him. "So, anything you'd like to share with the class?" Methos asked in a detached voice as he ran his finger lightly over the blade he held. 

"Je shr shuh muh lan dong shi? I don't know what the diyu you are talking about man!" Carlos replied as he struggled with the ropes. 

Methos began to circle the chair slowly. "Why are you watching this house? You aren't with the feds - or if you are, you didn't bring any ID." 

Carlos looked around in desperation. His anger at his boss for not warning him of the danger presented by his target warred with his fear of what the other man might do to him. "Look, lady you gotta help me. Don't let this xiong meng de kuang ren -" His plea was cut off when Methos suddenly cut his face with the knife. 

"I won't be insulted by the likes of you. I have been a lot of things, but I have never been a madman," Methos responded. 

"Pierce," Zoe interrupted. 

"You wanted to witness this, then watch girl. Watch, but keep your mouth shut!" he told her. Returning his attention to his subject, he changed tactics slightly. "Now then, this is fruitless so far. Let me tell you how things should work dongwu. You answer my questions, and I won't hurt you as much." Methos squatted behind the chair so he was speaking into the man's ear as he slowly ran the knife down his face leaving a trail of red. "We'll start slow so you can keep up. What's your name?" 

"Carlos," he replied looking at Zoe with wide eyes. 

Methos suddenly changed the position of the knife and left a deep gash in the man's chest. "You didn't give me your full name." 

"Carlos Varela." 

"That's better. Now, why are you watching the house?" the immortal asked again. 

Carlos closed his eyes as he felt the knife run over his hands and his arms, pricking every once in a while to maintain the constant warning of worse to come. "I was told there was to be a shipment to the woman. I was supposed to intercept it." 

"You're learning. Good," Methos praised next to his ear. "Who was delivering the shipment?" 

"You." 

Zoe watched as the immortal's face took on an expression that was impossible for her to read. She winced as he placed the knife under the man's ear. "And who am I?" the immortal asked. 

\-- 

"I will end that, that thing!" Malcolm Reynolds swore as Jayne finished his story. "You'll take me to that house now." 

Jayne backed up and motioned with his hands for Mal to back off. "Look, Mal, I don't think that's a good idea. Zoe said that someone might be interested in the ship." 

Mal advanced on the man. "I didn't ask you to think gorram it, I told you to take me to wherever that hundan and Zoe are and to do it now!" 

"Zoe said his plan was good. He just wants to know that the woman's safe." 

Mal slammed his fist into the locker beside Jayne's head. "Do I need to remind you who's captain of this gorram boat? Now get moving." 

Their exit of the bridge was interrupted by Wash's voice over the intercom. "Mal, there's some nice folks down here in the cargo bay asking after the good Charlie Pierce and his luggage." 

"Mei guanxi, dong ma. I'll be right with 'em Wash," Mal replied. Turning, he glared at Jayne. "This is his fault, I know it. Go get Vera and take a position on the catwalk. Hopefully River's still asleep or we might really be humped." 

\-- 

"I don't know!" Carlos's reply ended as a scream as Methos calmly sliced half his ear off. "I don't know I swear," he sobbed. "He just showed me your picture, that's all. Said it was important to off you and make sure the shipment didn't make it here." 

Methos stood as he considered Carlos's words. He was only dealing with a messenger and errand boy then; the man might not know anything useful. Then again, he would be informed if it was thought that his target was dangerous, assuming Carlos's bosses truly wanted him dead. Before he revealed anything he might regret, he sliced open both sleeves of Carlos's long sleeved shirt. He ignored Zoe as she moved to his side, unnerved by what she thought he might do next. 

Carlos struggled when he realized what Methos was looking for and that in itself made it unnecessary to see the blue circular tattoo with a 'W' in the middle. Of course, it also made this interrogation much more complex as well. Things would be simplified if he could be sure that the woman would have no qualms with him killing the man, but then it really didn't matter. He could always leave it for Amanda to do. 

\-- 

"Kaylee, where you at girl?" Mal asked as he checked to make sure his guns were loaded and ready. 

"I'm in the engine room Cap'n." 

"Good, stay there and lock the door. Do you know where Simon and River are at?" 

"River's still asleep last I knew, and Simon's helping me." 

Mal rolled his eyes. No telling what kind of help she was talking about and right now he really didn't care. "Both of you stay put till you here from me or Zoe, okay?" 

"Yes, sir. Anything you need us to do?" 

"Just what I told you for once would be nice." That bit of business taken care of; he exited the bridge and ran into Jayne exiting his bunk. Wash and Book had gone into town to pick up the supplies they needed for the rest of the trip, so Mal assumed that Book was in the cargo bay with Wash. 

"How you wanta play this?" Jayne asked. 

"You stay in position. Worst happens, get to the bridge and don't let them take it, you hear?" Jayne nodded. 

Once at the cargo bay Mal walked to the top of the ramp. Looking down, he saw three men holding guns on Wash and Book while a fourth searched them for weapons. "Howdy folks, heard you wanted to talk," Mal shouted as he aimed his gun. 

\-- 

"And the woman you were watching, what were you to do with her?" Methos asked, not bothering to mask the menace he felt from his face. 

"Wer-Weren't told to do nothing. Just make sure she didn't get the shipment," Carlos almost stuttered out of fear. 

Methos turned to Zoe. She surprised him; she was keeping all emotions off of her face. If she regretted staying, he doubted he would know. "What do you think, baby? You think he's told us all there is to tell?" 

Zoe glared at him for the use of the familiar term. However, she didn't protest it either; she realized he was carefully making sure that no names slipped that would allow this situation to be tracked back to Serenity. She wondered if he planned on allowing this man to live when he was done. But then she supposed if he didn't get what he needed from Carlos, they might be able to follow the messenger back to his bosses. 

Methos appeared to actually be waiting for answer from her, not just playing to his audience. "I don't know. Do you think he's scared for his life yet, or just wants to avoid the pain?" 

Methos cocked his head at her response. He'd expected her to say yes, to want to end the torture. She definitely wasn't the type of soldier that enjoyed inflicting pain on her enemies, but she was a good enough soldier to endure the means for the proper result. "Interesting question. What's your answer to the pretty lady's question Carlos?" 

Carlos renewed his struggle against his bonds as Methos began to walk back towards him. 

\-- 

Two of the guns automatically moved off of Book and Wash to cover Mal. The man searching the two pulled out his own gun and placed it against Wash's head. "We want all the items brought on board by Charles Pierce," he demanded. 

Mal's eyes glanced to the left while his head remained still when he heard the quiet click of Jayne preparing Vera. Hopefully the mercenary was still invisible. "Good for you; however, I'm not in the habit of handing off my passenger's goods without receiving compensation. Makes it hard to have repeat customers and the like, ya understand." 

The leader cocked the gun he held to Wash's head. "The payment is your lives Mr. Reynolds." 

Mal swore silently. Now would definitely be a good time for Zoe and Methos to return. "I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage. I prefer to know the names of men threatening my life." Scratching his head to hide his signal to Jayne, he continued. "I like to know whose name to curse to the Nine Hells you know." As soon as he finished speaking a bullet planted itself in the forehead of the leader. Both Wash and Book lurched forward as soon as they heard Vera shoot and managed to knock the two men standing in front of them off balance. Mal killed the third as he ducked cover. 

Book and Wash both quickly restrained their targets and Mal hurried down the ramp, finally jumping off the last level to the cargo bay floor below. "Anyone hurt?" he called out as he hurried to shut the ramp door from prying eyes. 

\-- 

Methos kicked the chair over so that Carlos could only look at him. "Well Carlos, any other tidbits of knowledge? How 'bout you explain your pretty tattoo to the nice lady? I doubt she understands it." 

"It's nothing. Just something I did during the war, drunk with my buddies," Carlos cried. 

Methos stood at the base of the chair, not even meeting the captive's eyes. Slowly, he sliced deep cuts in the man's right calf. Moving to the other leg, he poised the knife over Carlos's thigh when the man's desperate cries stopped the knife. 

"Watchers, means I'm a Watcher. Follow immortals, record their lives," he whimpered. 

"You are such an interesting subject Carlos. See that answer just brings up all sorts of new questions. We won't dwell on the immortals for the moment though. I have a more important question - if you're a Watcher, why would you be told to follow and kill me? What's my importance to your game?" Methos moved so he could see the other man's face. Depending on his answer, he would learn more from Carlos's face than he would from the words. 

Despite the man's fear of his interrogator, Carlos was very aware of the possible results of a Watcher tribunal should he manage to live. Carlos considered his options. He really didn't know what the importance of this man had been. He'd heard rumors, but they were ten years old - this Pierce was much too young for them to refer to him. Although it was possible that he was a relative maybe? "I really don't know. Rumors that's all." 

Methos placed the tip of the knife back against Carlos's thigh and began to apply pressure slowly. "Stop, please, I'll tell you," Carlos screamed. Methos ignored him and continued to pierce the muscle deeper and deeper, only pausing when Carlos began to blabber quickly in a desperate attempt to stop the knife. "Heard that a bunch of the Watcher's collection from the Game disappeared about twenty years ago, right after one of our research boys took the head of an immortal. Don't know anything else though, her watcher was found dead. It was assumed that he'd taken 'em for the money, had it planned with the immortal and then changed his mind at the last minute. That's all I know. That, that was the shipment and why it couldn't be given over to this immortal woman." 

Methos looked into the desperate face of the man on the floor. He'd told all he knew and more importantly, would be too scared now to return to his boss. When Methos had disappeared after killing Cassandra, the society had become even more paranoid. They now killed anyone they believed to be disloyal out of hand without bothering to ask questions. He cleaned the knife and handed it to Zoe for her put away. When her back was turned, he reached down and snapped Carlos's neck in one clean motion. 

\-- 

Part 5  
Warning: spoilers for the Message  
Chinese glossary  
Lese - garbage  
Laotou - old geezer  
Bun tien-shung de ee-duai-ro - stupid inbred sack of meat 

* * *

Zoe didn't comment on Carlos's death on the way back to the ship. She assumed Methos knew what he was doing and he obviously understood the current situation better than she did. It was understandable that with the scrutiny of the Alliance an immortal would want to avoid the scrutiny of any group that kept records. Although, as she considered the interrogation, Zoe was surprised to realize that Carlos had never indicated that anyone suspected that Charles Pierce was an immortal. More importantly, Methos had carefully asked his questions to prevent that assumption from being made. As Serenity came into sight, she glanced at the man beside her. She decided to tell Mal to use a good long hard burn to get the immortal to the destination of Dyton. 

Methos was worried. He was reassured that Carlos had not suspected that he was an immortal, but he was unsure that all Watchers' had reached that conclusion. If they linked him to Serenity, they would easily track him to Dyton. Staying and finding another transport was out of the question. Looked like he would be having a long discussion about the whole mess with Captain Reynolds after all, he thought miserably. 

At the ship, they were surprised to find the cargo bay doors closed. Zoe used her remote to open them. Once the doors were open, the sight of two men bound hand to foot greeted them. "Are you just going to stand there gawking or are you going to shut the gorram door?" Mal asked testily. 

Zoe hurried to close the door as Methos groaned inwardly. Now he really wasn't looking forward to his impending talk with the captain. Methos attempted to duck as the captain suddenly grabbed him by his shirt front, but he was too slow due to the unexpectedness of the move. His back ached where it hit the cargo bay doors. Mal held him there with his arm inches from his adam's apple. "I'm getting real tired of your gorram secrets endangering this crew and this ship. Now, you ARE going to tell me what the hell is so important about a bunch of swords and other ancient lese right now, or we're going to start experimenting on just what kind of deaths you can come back from, dong ma?" Mal questioned as he looked in Methos's eyes, deadly serious. 

"I told you already, they are personal items of mine and a few friends. They have untold historical and monetary value," Methos replied as he attempted vainly to get Mal to release a bit of pressure from his throat. 

"That doesn't explain why these four men knew that said souvenirs were on my boat or why they were willing to kill for 'em," Mal growled. 

"Captain, do they have tattoos? On their wrists?" Zoe asked as she walked over to check one of the dead bodies. 

"What does that have to do with anything?" Mal said. He increased the pressure on the immortal's throat when Methos attempted to take advantage of his distraction. 

"She's right, they do. Even the live ones," Jayne offered as he slapped one of the bound captives when he tried to prevent the mercenary from seeing his wrist. 

"We just finished questioning one of the men watching his contact's house. He had the same tattoo and mentioned the theft of a number of artifacts by a former member of some secret society. The suspect disappeared right after he killed an immortal," Zoe explained. Methos banged his head into the door in frustration. Damnit, she'd just given them all the info they needed. He knew what the next question was going to be. 

"That's very interesting Zoe. Tell me Methos," Mal asked, emphasizing his request with more pressure to the immortal's throat, "Why would a mortal kill an immortal?" He released a bit of pressure to encourage the other man to answer. 

"For the same reasons anyone kills anybody," Methos stated, less than calmly. 

Mal punched Methos in the stomach and followed that with a knee to the face. Backing up, he motioned to Jayne and Zoe to keep their weapons on the immortal. "Now see, I'm getting some interesting notions." Mal stepped back farther as he saw that the immortal was beginning to recover somewhat from his abuse. "See here's the interesting part of my notion - seems to me that it would be unlikely that even a master swordsman would be able to beat one of you immortals considering swordfighting was a part of your Game. Somehow, I doubt that this Watcher that is thought to have stolen all this crap was just a mortal." Mal paused to watch Methos react to his idea. Folding his arms, he looked directly into the immortal's eyes so the man would understand how serious he was about his next statement. "Wonder how these guys bosses would react to having their culprit hand delivered to them?" 

Methos grunted in frustration and pain. Amazing how badly a punch hurt when you hadn't received one in almost a quarter of a century. "You're assuming a lot Captain, but I won't disagree." He glanced at the two live captives; they were astonished by his admission. Two more problems he'd have to get Serenity's crew to let him deal with. Redirecting his attention to Mal and Zoe, he attempted to regain some control over the situation. "I ask you to consider for a moment whether or not this group will just let you walk away with the knowledge you possess. It is a knowledge that they have controlled for close to two and a half millennia." 

"I have to admit that question crossed my mind. But I want you to be very clear on something laotou, from here on out, you tell me everything. No half-truths or attempts to put me off till after the fact, dong ma? I even think you're being less than truthsome and I'll personally hold you down while River digs the answers out of your head. That is if I don't take it off first," Mal explained in a voice that trembled with barely controlled rage. 

Methos nodded his agreement as he stood, still rubbing his sore throat. His face had already begun to heal. Since the fight started, the two Watchers' never took their eyes off of the immortal - a fact that neither he nor Mal had neglected to notice. 

"Jayne, tell Wash to get us off this rock. Zoe, make sure the rest of the crew stays outta here till well after we've left planet." When the two left, Mal tossed his gun to Methos. "Clean up your mess and don't leave no blood to worry the women folk." 

\-- 

The African man looked up from his books when the bell on his door indicated someone had entered the small store. He frowned tiredly; he knew he had locked it. The weight of his years grew when he saw that his visitor was Wan instead of Carlos. "What's so important at this time of the night?" he asked roughly. 

"Sorry, sir, but I thought I should let you know that Serenity lifted off an hour ago. Also, we've had no contact from the retrieval team since they left." 

His boss rubbed his face tiredly. All field agents were imbeciles nowadays. There was no danger to keep them sharp. The immortals feared their watchers more than the reverse in this day and age. "And Carlos? Was he successful?" 

Wan looked uncomfortable as he answered. "No one has heard from Carlos. The other two at their posts report that he failed to check in, but they found no evidence of a struggle." 

"So we are compromised." The African clasped his hands together and rested his chin on them as he considered his options. "Contact Womack, let him know that we have a lucrative side-job for him." 

\-- 

That night, after a tense dinner, Methos endured his own interrogation in shuttle one. Mal and Zoe both faced him. Additionally, River refused to be put off and Mal had finally decided her talents might be of use. Methos felt indifferent to her presence; it wasn't like their conversation would reveal anything truly disturbing to the child. Odds were, she had either already witnessed it in her dreams or experienced far worse firsthand. 

"We're waiting," Mal said darkly. He was still upset at how close the Watchers had come to doing real damage to his crew. If Methos had only warned him earlier that they might be after his effects rather than he or his friend, Mal would have taken more precautions. As it was, he was incredibly glad that River had slept through the entire fiasco. 

Methos glanced up at the Captain from where he sat in the pilot's chair. River sat beside him. "What more is there to tell? Honestly, Captain, I'm not stringing you along here. You've already pieced it together anyway." 

Mal resisted the urge to pace as he replied. "How 'bout you start with the need for all the cloak and dagger? If you know these people and they somehow don't know what you are, why bother? Way I understand it, Amanda should be expecting to be watched." 

Methos leaned back and wished for the umpteenth time that day that he had a cold beer. He really hated to even think about these events when he was sober, let alone talk about it. "Yeah, well that was before an unnamed and very dead Watcher decided that a good way to make a boatload of money would be to sell an immortal to the Blue Sun Corporation for experiments." 

River started to rock and tears streamed down her face as she saw what Methos remembered while he related it to Zoe and Mal. 

<FlashBack>  
Methos doubled checked the incoming chronicle reports. Duncan's watcher had failed to post a single chronicle entry in over a month. Although their lives were not as exciting as they had been during the Game, the more prominent and older immortals generally received notations when they met with high ranking officials and such. 

Duncan had somehow managed to become an assistant to the law forces on Persephone. The eternal boyscout could not stand the fact that the border worlds actively engaged in a slave trade. His job was a mildly high profile position that usually resulted in at least one report every two weeks. Add to that Amanda's consternation at being stood up by Duncan when she landed on Persephone last week, and the end result was a really big headache for the universe's oldest immortal. 

He hurriedly downloaded what he could on both Duncan's recent activities and his watcher's personnel file. It was becoming harder and harder to hack into the Watchers' system - the database automatically recorded any access after a certain amount of time and he had yet to have the leisure to study up on ways to bypass this feature. Once he was done, he hurried to lay the groundwork for whom and what he would need. Methos was exceedingly angry at Connor Macleod for managing to lose his head shortly before the exodus from Earth That Was. That death had greatly shortened the list of immortals he trusted that were suitable for what would need to be done. 

\-- 

Amanda was driving him up the wall. He was glad that she'd known how to contact Nick Wolfe quickly and that the younger immortal had come. If Methos had been forced to deal with a frantic Amanda alone, he would probably have taken her head by now. 

"I still don't see what's taking so long," the female immortal complained in voice that was becoming increasingly shrill. 

Nick tried to calm her down. "It takes as long as it takes Manda. Adam knows what he's doing." 

"And it's done. The rest may be impossible, but I know where Macleod is," Methos interrupted. At their questioning looks, he told them the rest. "Blue Sun." 

\-- 

After Methos managed to find a suitable excuse to be gone from his training with the Watchers, the three began making the necessary purchases and plotting their plan of attack. He hadn't been exaggerating when he'd said it was hopeless. He was more than a little tempted to hightail it to the frontier and attempt to forget the whole idea. If they failed, it might be more than just Duncan Macleod at the tender mercies of the Blue Sun scientists. 

Their assault started smoothly. Methos quickly left Nick and Amanda in order to gain computer access. Once he'd found the location in the complex that their friend was being held, he directed their rescue while at the same time attempting to access and erase all files related to Mac. He breathed a sigh of relief when Nick told him over the com that they'd found the highlander. 

"But he's dead," the young immortal informed him. 

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Methos joked. "He'll revive to regale us with Scottish songs by the time we leave," Methos replied almost laughing. There it was done, now to release the virus and hopefully destroy all mention of immortals on the computer completely, not just one Duncan Macleod. 

"No, you don't understand Adam. He's DEAD, there is no buzz from him at all." 

Methos froze in place. It was impossible. With their shared quickening, he would have known surely. But wait, he hadn't felt Mac's presence when they arrived on the station. For the recent past, they could almost feel each other even if they were on the same planet, let alone a space station the size of a city. "His head?" 

"His head is still in place, just no buzz. I've finally got Amanda moving, but I need your help. This hundan is heavy." 

"I'll meet the two of you at the first junction." 

\-- 

It had taken Macleod two days to revive. By the time his buzz returned twelve hours after they'd gotten him off the station, Methos had almost given up hope. Even after reviving, Macleod still had a lot of painful healing to endure. For most of the next week he hardly recognized anyone except Methos. It was enough to bring out the Horseman in the older immortal. 
    
    
         As soon as Duncan was comfortable with only Amanda and Nick to look after him, Methos left.  It did not take him long to locate Duncan's watcher, but it took two days before he was finished with the man.  Kronos would have been disappointed in him - he only managed to make the torture last two days.  He was unsure if it was because he was rusty, if he simply let the anger control him.  
         Methos returned to visit Duncan when he could, but it was a risk each time.  He had just returned to the Watcher organization for the first time in five lifetimes.  He wasn't trusted yet, and well, he couldn't risk bringing any attention to the other three.  He arranged accidents for his Nick and Amanda's watchers, just in case.  He was uncertain if the organization had been infiltrated by the Alliance or the Blue Sun, but he would be damned if he took a chance with their lives.  
    
    

<end flashback>

By the end of the story, Zoe held River in her arms trying to quiet the girl. Methos attempted to quiet his mind, but it was nearly impossible to banish the image of Duncan when they had first found him. The immortal had been starved so that he was as skinny as Methos and had been cut so many times, repeatedly, the man had actually started to scar. He forced his mind away from it by embracing the anger. It might not be any healthier for the girl, but to him it was less disturbing than her distress. 

"So that's it. One watcher sold an immortal, and the four of you run scared?" Mal asked. 

"Honestly, I don't know that his watcher did sell him. The man denied it with his dying breath, but I couldn't exactly afford to interrogate all of them, now could I? No one else disappeared during the remainder of my time as a Watcher." 

Mal started to pace. "How will they respond to losing the shipment?" 

Methos shrugged. "I don't know. I don't even know how they knew I was on your ship, alright? I hadn't left Bellaraphon since I took the identity of Charles Pierce and I avoided anywhere that had possibility of security cameras." 

An eerily quiet voice interrupted them. "Doesn't matter, none of you bun tien-shung de ee-duai-ro mortals do. They'll come, but we'll kill them. That's what Death on a Pale Horse does best," River said with a hungry smile. 

"I'd take it as a kindness if you didn't make our insane assassin even more threatening and creepifying than normal," Mal remarked as he looked nervously at both River and Methos. Right now, he couldn't say for sure which one scared him more. 

Methos closed his eyes. He really wished that River would learn not to communicate thoughts that would lead the crew to distrusting him. 

\-- 

"Womack here, to whom am I speaking?" the man on the screen asked. His facial features and mannerisms screamed military police. 

The bookstore owner pushed Wan aside. "Womack, it's good to see you again. Been a long time." 

"Not long enough Razzan. What do you want?" 

Razzan smiled into the screen, the crow's feet around his eyes crinkling. "Ah, my dear Womack, surely you're not still holding a grudge. You were well compensated." 

"I was also demoted two ranks old buzzard. Now I ask again, what do you want? Or am I supposed to guess which high profile prisoner you need me to set free this time because his prison sentence might be a tad too long." 

"No, nothing like that, I assure you. There is just a little problem with a former employee who stole a large number of valuables some years ago. Of course, there is a large reward for their recovery." 

"And the thief?" Razzan drew his fingers across his throat. "It will be expensive," Womack warned. 

"Trust me, so long as we receive all the items intact, any price will be acceptable. The thief and the targets are on a firefly transport ship called Serenity. I'm sending you their last known coordinates and their filed destination." 

Womack smiled at the mention of the firefly ship. "Serenity, you just might get a discount on this one after all." 

\-- 

Part 6  
Laji- garbage.  
loatou-old geezer 

Zoe and Mal stood alone on the ship's bridge discussing Methos's story. "So what do you think Zoe? Beyond the ill-advisedness of ever taking on passengers." 

Zoe leaned against the lockers as she looked out into the Black. "We obviously can't go to Dyton, sir. If those Watchers are really determined, they or someone will be waiting there." 

"Assuming they don't just ambush us along the way." 

"Saying that, I still think it's a bad idea to let him stay on the ship any longer than necessary. Beyond the trouble he brings, well, quite frankly sir, his influence on River scares the hell outta me." 

Mal grabbed one of the ceiling straps as he leaned over the console to get a closer look at the black. "You and me both Zoe. I definitely plan on keeping those two as far apart as is physically possible on this ship. Hell, might just tie him outside an airlock." 

Zoe smiled at the image. "Can't say that wouldn't make me feel better, sir." 

"I looked at the maps. The planets of Gibson, Trysdale, and Kang are all about the same amount of burn time as Dyton. Our friend might not care too much for all of their climates, but he can complain as Jayne and I throw him out on the ground." 

"Trysdale is the furthest away from Dyton, so we might miss anyone looking for us en route," Zoe offered. "Don't know that it would be a good idea for them to link Serenity too closely with him though if we're going to help him get rid of his stuff." 

Mal nodded. "I got a plan to deal with that, don't worry. Tell Wash to change the course and make a hard burn for a couple of hours afterward. I'll go inform our guest as to the change in plans." 

Zoe gave Mal a questioning look. "And this plan is so fool proof I don't need to hear it?" 

Mal smiled enigmatically. "Plan's fool proof and I'm gonna enjoy the hell out of it." 

\-- 

Methos cursed loudly as the Captain left his room. They wouldn't be going to Dyton after all, which would mean that the Watchers would have no trouble at all tracking him. He'd be forced to maintain his identity if he wanted to have any monetary funds whatsoever. Of course, Reynolds kindly offered a loan in return for some of his antiques if he was so inclined. On a positive note, the man agreed to stop on an asteroid or moon on the way, so Methos could at least take comfort in the fact that the items symbolizing the collective past he shared with his friends would be safe. 

Lying down on the bed, he gave up on the idea of gutting Mal and taking his boat. Too many of his crew knew about him and they were all too loyal for it to work anyway. And to be honest, the number of people he'd already killed today weighed heavily on him. Death was usually absent from his psyche of late; that particular aspect of his personality had not emerged for at least three hundred years before Macleod had been taken. 

He nearly yelled when he felt a body lay down beside him. Diyu! It was the girl; the crazy loon was going to get him spaced. Sitting up, he tried to extricate his limbs from hers, but she wouldn't cooperate. "River, you're in the wrong room." 

"I'll stay and you'll protect me. Death wears blue, but it's just a mask, the hands are flesh." 

"I won't let anyone hurt you girl, but I can do that just as well with you in your own damn bed." 

"Blue hands, blue tattoos, purple bellies, they all join. They seek the secrets of death, want to know how death works. They'll leave bodies behind as they take yours and your head will never leave its neck." 

Her words were making him sweat with fear. He'd thought she could only read the thoughts of those near her, but it seemed as if her reach might be boundless so long as the plans she picked up involved those she knew. Or were these just idle phrases given power to due to his experiences with Cassandra's visions? "River, who is coming? When will they find me?" 

She smiled at him as her eyes gazed at something only she could see. She ran her fingers through his hair. "He didn't like Jayne's hat, said it made him look like an idiot. Kaylee was very upset at how he treated Serenity." 

Methos reached up and claimed River's hand from his hair. "Listen, bao bei, I can't protect you if I don't know who it is. Who are you talking about?" 

River's eyes changed focus, but Methos was uncertain if the girl was back in reality. River put a finger to his lips and pushed him back on the bed. "Shhh, old man. Lie back and trust in the gods of old to watch out for you. They'll protect both you and the child if you are worthy." Methos just watched River leave his room, almost too frightened to move. He had been right - she was picking up some of Cassandra's quickening. 

\-- 

Jayne was pissed off. There were no two ways about it. There was no good reason why he was being forced to help that fancy-assed walking corpse dig a bunch a holes on an asteroid in a space suit. Hell, if Mal was even half as smart as he acted, they'd dump the freak here and sell his stuff. But no, he's a passenger and he don't want to sell his precious laji, so we're gonna all help him bury it. Jayne snorted as he pitched another shovel full of dirt on the pile beside him. The stupid laotou probably wouldn't ever be able to find this asteroid on his own any way. They were burying perfectly good money. 

"That's the last of it Jayne. You can go on back to the ship, we'll finish up," Mal told him as he lowered the last small crate into the trench Jayne had just dug. Jayne shook his head once more in disgust before heading in the direction of Serenity. 

"He doesn't seem to enjoy exercise in the fresh air," Methos remarked sarcastically as he placed a small radio transmitter in each of the three trenches. 

Mal took the shovel that Jayne had left and began to fill one of the trenches as Methos did same. "Jayne's straightforward - if he don't see the profit in an action, he generally don't care for it." 

\-- 

Womack watched the radar screen over his pilot's shoulder. Serenity still had a good one hour lead on them, but soon enough he'd have them in his sights. Then get the cargo, teach that uppity crew a lesson, and find out if Pierce got to go back to the Watcher's dead or alive. Womack's plans were interrupted when the control panel beeped and the image of Serenity split into two pieces. 

"What just happened?" Womack demanded angrily. 

"I can't be certain from this angle sir, but I believe a shuttle just took off from the main ship," the young pilot explained nervously. 

"Is there a planet it can reach?" 

"Checking. Given its trajectory and range, it should be able to hit the atmo of Trysdale in another hour or so." 

"Follow it. I doubt Captain Reynolds would completely abandon a shuttle." First order of business, Womack thought to himself, secure the money. Afterwards, there would be plenty of time to settle his score with that ship and its crew. 

\-- 

"I do not appreciate being pulled from my bed and ordered into a shuttle without a word of explanation Captain," Methos stated coldly. 

Mal kept his eyes forward as he guided the shuttle into the atmosphere. "Quite frankly, I don't give a damn. So sit tight and shut up, you'll be outta my hair and free to annoy and endanger other folks all you like soon enough," Mal replied. 

Jayne sat beside the Captain smirking. He had almost begged Mal to let him go on the shuttle when Mal finally explained his plan to him, Zoe and Wash. When the shuttle was close to landing, Jayne stood and trained his gun on the immortal. The other man continued to glare at the mercenary, but Jayne didn't care. He was too busy looking forward to seeing the smug smile wiped off the rich man's face. 

"End of the line Methos. Hope you enjoyed the trip," Mal told the other man as he powered down the shuttle. "Escort the fella out Jayne, wouldn't want him to get turned around." When the two men stepped off the shuttle, Mal followed them pausing only to grab a shovel he'd placed on board with the immortal's luggage. 

"I don't suppose I get a refund seeing as you failed to deliver me to my destination of choice?" Methos questioned when Mal joined him. 

"Actually, thought I'd ask you to do a bit of work for me first. Seeing how you've gotten my ship shot at and drawn the attention of unsavory types to it, I figure you owe me." Mal tossed the shovel to the immortal before he continued. "I'd appreciate it if you could dig me a hole about six feet wide and at least a foot deep." Methos stared at the Captain in astonishment. "Jayne, looks like he needs a little incentive or a demonstration. Help him with that before our company arrives, would ya." 

"Be my pleasure Captain," Jayne replied as he eagerly advanced on the immortal. 

Methos glared at the larger man and then began to dig the hole as instructed. The entire situation was out of control and Methos could not predict what Mal's motive or even the man's next move. He would expect Jayne to kill him and sell the items they had buried the previous day, but he hadn't picked up that the impression from Mal. Sighing to himself, Methos concluded that he had no choice other than to cooperate at least until either of the other men attempted to kill him. 

Mal looked up when he heard another ship approaching. "Jayne, time to go." 

"But Mal, I wanted to watch," Jayne whined. Mal raised an eyebrow and gestured with his gun. Methos watched the interplay between the men still uncertain as to what was going on. Jayne left the clearing and entered the woods before the Alliance scout vessel came into visual range. 

Mal watched the ship land, somewhat surprised that it was an Alliance craft that had pursued them. The reactions of their pursuer were the only variable that he couldn't control in his plan, but he hoped that the immortal's secret was unknown. Otherwise he'd feel mighty guilty on the return trip to Serenity. Mal groaned when Womack and his large sidekick exited the ship. This new development certainly made his plan a mite more interesting. 

Womack smiled when he saw Malcolm Reynold's dismay at his own arrival. "Well Captain, so nice to meet you again." 

"Can't say I feel the same Womack. Taking side jobs out of your sector again?" Mal asked pointedly. 

"As fate would have it Captain, we're in my sector. And you happen to have exactly what I'm looking for in perfect condition this time," Womack replied. 

"I love reunions as much as the next guy, but really, I'll leave you two alone to catch up," Methos quipped as he started to step out of the hole he had dug. 

"No," both men told him. 

"Is there a reward for this one?" Mal asked. Womack shook his head. "Damn, guess there's no reason to turn him over in perfect condition then is there?" With that, he shot Methos in the chest and again in the head as he fell. 

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Womack yelled as he and his sidekick pulled their weapons. 

"Man pissed me off; I'd been looking forward to killing him for quite sometime. Unfortunately some of the women on my ship took a liking to him so I couldn't just throw him out an airlock like I did all of his belongings, now could I?" Mal explained with a shrug. "Oh, and point of interest, you might want to put those guns away before someone gets hurt." As he spoke, a bullet hit the ground between Womack and his associate. Both men quickly lowered their weapons. 

"I need his head to show my bosses," Womack stated as he started to walk towards the dead body. Another bullet hit the ground in front of him stopping his progress. 

Mal walked over to the hole and roughly kicked the body into it. Finding the immortal's sword in his ever present coat, he threw it to the two lawmen. "That should do for proof, idiot never would go anywhere without it. Course, only a rich man would think a sword could protect him from a gun. Now, how 'bout you folks leave so I can bury this body and get off this rock." 

Womack leaned down to retrieve the sword. "This isn't over Reynolds," he said before getting on his ship. Mal smiled to himself as he made a show of covering the immortal's body with dirt. 

Shortly after Womack's ship had left, Methos revived. Unfortunately, Mal had been watching him closely and placed a well timed shovel full of dirt directly on his face as Methos gasped his first breath. Jayne laughed loudly at the immortal's indignant reaction. Methos stood and brushed off the dirt that Mal had deposited on him. "Was it entirely necessary to shoot me twice?" 

Mal smiled. "No, but it sure made me feel better." 

Methos rolled his eyes and walked with the other two men towards the waiting shuttle. "Since that's out of your system now, could someone please fill me in on the rest of the idiotic plan?" 

"Now we dump you off on a moon and see how you fare," Jayne answered. Methos stopped suddenly forcing Mal to push him forward into the shuttle. 

"It's not how it sounds granpa. Someone will meet us there to take you wherever you want to go," Mal explained. 

"Oh." Methos suddenly glared at Mal, "Wait a second, you gave him my sword!" 

Mal started up the shuttle as he replied. "Game's over old man. You don't need it anymore." 

The End. 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title:   **Death By Any Other Name**   
Author:   **Jebbypal**   
Details:   **Standalone**  |  **PG-13**  |  **gen**  |  **99k**  |  **04/27/04**   
Characters:  Malcolm, Zoe, River   
Crossover with: Highlander: The Series   
Summary:  Firefly/Highlander Crossover   
  



End file.
